“He needs to be deterred, and the only way to deter him is a lengthy period of incarceration,” Gasparian said as Perry stood on the opposite side of the courtroom in an orange prison jumpsuit.

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Perry was convicted of vehicular homicide in 1995 after a crash in which the passenger in his car was killed. In sentencing him to that and other offenses, Mercer Judge Darlene Pereksta rejected the prosecution’s call for prison time and gave the convict five years of probation — “one last chance” to sober up for good.

Prosecutors appealed the sentence to the top state court, which upheld Pereksta’s decision.

In February 2006, Perry led cops on a chase after he was stopped for a suspected motor vehicle violation. In January 2011, in Bucks County, Pa., Perry drove the wrong way up Route 213 in Middletown and caused a crash in which three other people were injured and could have been killed, Gasparian said.

Yesterday, Lord called Gasparian’s call for a lengthy prison term “sour grapes” over the upper courts not overruling Pereksta and letting Perry stay free on probation.

Lord also argued that Perry, the son of an alcoholic, has been a drinker since age 12 and actually did well staying sober after Pereksta gave him that last chance to clean up. The defense lawyer said Perry’s post-probation offenses represented lapses of the type all alcoholics have on the road to recovery.

Lord also said her reading of state probationary and sentencing rules say Perry should not be put away for as long as the prosecution wants.

Mercer Superior Court Judge Thomas Brown gave Lord until June 3 to submit a short written argument and told Gasparian she’d have another week to respond.